It happens to many of us – a distant relative by marriage or a close family friend passes away. They had no children, and someone delivers a box of old photos to you because there is no one else to take them. You don’t know who any of the people in the photos are and you’re quite sure none of them are related to you. So what do you do with them? Well, you might consider donating them to the library located in the city where most of the photos were taken.

We are very fortunate that thoughtful people have done that very thing from time to time here at KPL, and recently the photo collection of Marion Louise McConnell came to us that way. It is an incredible collection of over 100 photos from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many are portraits taken by Kalamazoo photographers. Unfortunately, very few are identified, but the collection is too good not to share. We have created a Flickr collection and will be updating it with information regarding the photographers and any other clues we can determine. Enjoy the slideshow, and if you recognize any of the people or places please leave a comment on the photo. Families that may be included in the collection are McConnell, Rineveld, Kelder, Born, and Link.

It happens to many of us – a distant relative by marriage or a close family friend passes away. They had no children, and someone delivers a box of old photos to you because there is no one else to take them. You don’t know who any of the people in the photos are and you’re quite sure none of them are related to you. So what do you do with them? Well, you might consider donating them to the library located in the city where most of the photos were taken.

We are very fortunate that thoughtful people have done that very thing from time to time here at KPL, and recently the photo collection of Marion Louise McConnell came to us that way. It is an incredible collection of over 100 photos from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many are portraits taken by Kalamazoo photographers. Unfortunately, very few are identified, but the collection is too good not to share. We have created a Flickr collection and will be updating it with information regarding the photographers and any other clues we can determine. Enjoy the slideshow, and if you recognize any of the people or places please leave a comment on the photo. Families that may be included in the collection are McConnell, Rineveld, Kelder, Born, and Link.

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Marion Louise McConnell

Here is a little more information on Marion Louise McConnell. She was born in Kalamazoo in 1916 to Roy and Louise (Lulu) Rineveld McConnell. Her mother, a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo, died at age 60 in 1943. Her father, originally from Cedar Springs, Michigan, worked in the automobile service industry in Kalamazoo. Over the years he worked for a variety of service stations and automobile dealerships including Orrin B. Hayes and DeNooyer Bros. Roy McConnell died in Florida in 1960.

Marion grew up in the Washington Square area and attended Portage Street School, Washington Junior High and Kalamazoo Central High School, graduating in 1934. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Western State Teachers College in 1938. According to her obituary, she also earned a bachelor’s from Columbia University and a master’s from University of Michigan. She was a very accomplished teacher and librarian, compiling and editing two catalogs of books for children and high school students. She had many interests including reading, playing the piano, and volunteering, and received a Star Award for her work at the Kalamazoo Commission for the Blind. Marion McConnell died May 25, 2012 at the age of 95. Her full obituary as well as preserved mementos from her life can be viewed in the local history room.Posted by: Beth T ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 11:21 AM

I love what you're doing with the Flickr account. I have family in the area - just forwarded the article to them. :)Posted by: Web Designer Cardiff ( Email ) at 9/4/2012 4:54 AM

what a beautiful pictures one photo ( a woman with beautiful hat) looks like drawing picture nowadays we need to use photoshop to make it looks like that.Posted by: I Nyoman Adi surydarma ( Email ) at 3/14/2013 10:09 PM